


Human

by mikeymagee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Kindness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-04-17 03:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4650885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikeymagee/pseuds/mikeymagee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey notices something about Finn</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human

Rey had never met anyone like him. Not really. Growing up, she learned that it was everyone for themselves in this galaxy. If you didn’t have enough to eat, you either stole it, or went hungry. If you had a broken leg, you either sucked it up and kept going, or got left behind.

No one would ever come back for you. That’s just how life was. 

But Finn…Finn was different. 

Once, while she, Poe and Finn were under fire from a Storm Trooper barrage. They had take cover in an abandoned cave on Jakku, try and find a way to escape. 

Some bucket head found them in that cave, had a rifle pointed directly at Finn’s face, he was ready to shoot…but Poe shot first. 

It hit him straight in the shoulder, and he was down. That could have been their chance to escape. Or use their new prisoner as a bargaining chip, or at least torture him to get a little more info about the Order’s plans. That was the sensible thing to do. Survival over everything else. It’s what Rey knew. 

But Finn…took out his med back, sat next to that Storm Trooper. Stripped him of his helmet, and looked into his eyes. He was a boy, far too young to know what blood was meant to smell like. Blue eyes that trembled, and a mouth that barely opened. Rey knew that look. The look of someone who has being left behind. 

This trooper, this boy, was terrified. Neither Rey, nor Poe thought it was possible for Storm Troopers to have those kinds of emotions. She never believed there was anything human underneath those white helmets, and singed chest plates. 

“Don’t worry,” Finn said as he stripped away the kid’s armor. “You’re gonna be fine.” 

And Rey and Poe looked on as Finn undid the Trooper’s armor, cleaned the kid’s wound, let him drink from Finn’s canteen, and gave him pointers on how to hold his rifle. 

“You’ve gotta keep both your eyes open when you aim.” 

The kid smiled, they joked about the food in the mess hall, and commanding officers, and whether or not the kid had a girlfriend, and why wouldn’t he man up and ask that cute receptionist to a cantina one of these days. 

And this faceless footman became a human being. 

The day turned to night, and the brigade that was hunting them down had long since left. It was safe to move out.

Finn patted the kid on his shoulder, “Take your comm link and signal for your men, alright? By the time they come, we’ll be long gone.” 

And the trio left into the Jakku night, back on the run from the First Order. 

“What was that?” Rey asked when they finally found another cave to take shelter in.

“What was what?” Finn asked. 

“What you did back there with that Storm Trooper…you helped him.”

Finn simply shrugged, “He was injured. First aid for blaster wounds is standard procedure for all Sto-“

“That’s not what I meant,” Rey said, crossing her arms, “Y-you did something. You…” she didn’t really know how to phrase it. All her life, she had seen Storm Troopers as robots with blood, or clankers that had the capacity for pain…but now, it was different. Was that what each Storm Trooper was like? Behind those lifeless helmets, were they really just scared people who drank from canteens, had lunches in the sun, and gazed out into the night sky, terrified that they’d never see another sunset? 

“Did you know that guy?” Poe asked.

Finn just shrugged once more, “He needed help.”

“But he almost shot you,” Rey said. “He, and his entire squadron were trying to hunt you down. They’re all after you Finn.” 

Finn took a deep breath, and his hands began to shake, as if he were trying to hold onto something that he was slowly beginning to lose. “But they’re still human.” 

They’re still human. 

Rey never knew men like Finn existed. Not here, in this galaxy of cold lawlessness, or bitter self-interest. Men like that only existed in tall tales, or history books. Not in the here and now.

And yet here was Finn, shining in the galaxy’s darkness like a knight from a story. Kind. Caring. Brave enough to help and injured enemy. Strong enough to place his rifle down. 

She didn’t know people like that existed…but she was glad they did. 


End file.
